diary of a romantica, vol. II special edition: lovers remembered

by Celia Martinez, Martin Martinez (Illustrator)

Genres: Poetry, Romance

Paperback

Published July 23, 2023

Reviews

[Cassidy Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t help but binge read these poetic books at once

[Maud · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5✨

[Hans Manganti · Rating 5 out of 5]

If volume I stemmed from the thoughts of a hopeless romantic, volume II serves as the inversion of this, the anthology of a hopeFUL romantic. I am just as enamored with Celia's writing in this installment as the last, but the core of this work boils down to something even more human.

The incredible detail into sentiment makes each poem rather complex. Celia portrays how even being in a stable relationship is often not sufficient to overcome one's own faults and insecurities; even so, she manages to paint love as it should be, wherein it comes not in spite of these shortcomings but in light of them. The overarching themes of implicit affection and "love in the little things" still hold true into this piece.

Overall, her diary is just as romantic and warm as you'd expect it to be (if not more), but you can tell it now comes from a place of confidence, security, and health. A number of excerpts had me reeling in this book, and I would love to read it again.

[Celine Arienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
I love Celia’s poetry, it makes me feel. So much. It’s incredible.

“true love is often searched for
but rarely ever found”

“but oh my darling. yes it does! […] we look for it in others
but you need to find it inside you”

“because I can still remember
the way he looked into my eyes”

[Chip Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An improvement in every way, Volume 2 is the upbeat joyous outlook to proceed to harsh realness of Volume 1. A ray of sunshine through words on a page that always brightens up my days as a reader. The first book made me a fan, this made that fandom life-long.

[AE Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celia's work has meant a lot to me over the last few years, just continuously sticking with me, long before I owned the books. She just has this way of addressing such complex and deep romantic emotions through the lens of reality and how it is really shown in day-to-day life.

[Jade (beauty.andherbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
I enjoyed this one immensely, but I think vol. 1 is my fave

[tori olegario · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

as much as i try i’m starting to think i will never be a poetry girly i just like prose too much

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally I love poetry and this book was everything for me and the poet has been my favorite for a while now so reading it made me happy.

[Luca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just know that the printers were happy as hell to not print off colored illustrations

[Yanira Berríos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Celia never misses when it comes to writing about love. Whether it is from a hopeless or a hopeful romantic's view. Each poem gets more relatable and each feeling is perfectly conveyed.

[J's Reading Journal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Celia doesn’t disappoint. I’m not the biggest poetry person and it’s usually not something I gravitate towards but there has yet to be a poem written by her that I haven’t been left in awe by. I was so excited to grab this copy when it was finally released as a paperback and ordered it right away. I loved this book just as much as I loved her first. This book wasn’t as emotional (as in sad) as volume I was, although it was still equally as enjoyable (almost more hopeful). If you’re not sure whether you want to give this book a read, I would suggest scrolling through her Instagram page where she reads her poems aloud. Fair warning: her poems are so beautifully read that you might just end up scrolling through her page for a few hours without realizing.

[Nola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the first, this poetry book is so beautifully written.

Diary of a Romantica is perfect. Again, I loved every page.